How do wedding fares work?

6 comments

1. I went to a monster hunter one and they just tried to sell you the package at the end.

   We just left after.

   Didn’t cost anything. You should look online whether or not there is a fee for the ones you are looking at I guess. The one I went to was a group not individual.

   We were there for the free food and to see the decor. Still sad my phone with the pics on it got stolen.

2. Usually free of charge but it will take a good amount of time and they will push for you to sign/agree on the day.
   They have no real way to know if you’re actually planning or just preying for the free food but the meal sample isn’t anything substantial, at most one or two bites ( for reference, we got sample of 3 dishes and 1 dessert).

   The wedding packages are usually not a bad deal since they will secure locations, food, dress(for both), photographer, gifts for guests etc…

3. They’re mostly free (maybe not always?). It’s a marketing thing, the equivalent of going to a timeshare presentation or taking a car for a test drive. I don’t know how they can check but you’d have to turn up as a couple (whose names don’t match?), and it’s a lot of time to take out of your day for not a whole lot of food.

4. We went to a bunch of those free consultations. Never paid any fees or had to show anything. In fact, some of them even covered our transportation fare to the venue. And in one case, we had to cancel a showing/tasting on an hour’s notice, and fortunately there was no financial repercussion to us.

   It’s a sales pitch. I’m sure it could be abused by people wanting a free lunch but honestly, considering it’s only a small sample of food against a 2-3 hour long pitch, it really isn’t worth it the effort. Still, if you’re genuinely planning a wedding it, it’s the fun part before all the stress when you get to dream and eat. If you’re wavering between different options, I’d check out 2 or 3 venues to get a feel for them and that style of wedding.

   Even if it’s not ultimately your thing, at least you can get a little good food out of it (we found that while the portions were small, they often provide samples of their most expensive items, so that if you really like something you usually have to play extra in the end. It’s how we ended up upgrading our desserts at our wedding). DIY will save you money, but with the venues everything’s in house. Remember too at Japanese weddings guests will typically bring money instead of gifts which covers a chunk of the expenses.

5. Doesn’t cost anything but was never satisfied with any of the offers. Also got taxi reimbursed like someone mentioned. I was genuinely interested but the more places we visited the more “Japanese” the logistical side became and we did it ourselves.

   The shrine fee was the most expensive but we went to a nearby high class hotel with a buffet. We booked their “corporate party” which meant we got to use a private room next to the buffet for free which included microphone, projector, music stuff and screen. All the venues asked expensive rental fees for all that stuff. You don’t get transportation or an MC or decorations of your choice tho. But it drastically cut costs and my family enjoyed it a lot. The hotel also gave us free access to the Kobe Harbor view terrace we could privately use.

   Some heads up.
   A lot of these places do not include tax with their quotes until the very final price.

6. I m getting married in two weeks. I went to one marriage planners and here is the run down to answer your questions.

   1. Booking charges? No charge.

   2. How do they know if you’re looking for a free lunch? They don’t. They want to offer what they offer to potential customers even if it looks like you’re in it for the free food. Side note: Food portions are small and are samples. You won’t be full.

   3. Do you need to bring anything? No. I do advise to be prepared to answer some questions and bring questions to ask for them. “Do you accommodate people who are vegetarian?”
   Etc.

   Hope this helped!